President recalls Holocaust victims

President Michael D. Higgins has focused on one of the most terrible atrocities ever committed against a section of society, ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on Sunday.

“Today, on Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember the victims of the Nazi Holocaust – the millions of innocent men, women and children who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis because of their ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliations or their religious beliefs.

“On this day we pause and remember the atrocities committed in that short space of time in the middle of the 20th century, as we remember the unspeakable horror unleashed on millions of people under a regime built on fear, hatred, prejudice and convulsive cruelty.

“In remembering, we are inviting each other to pay heed to the small and dwindling number of powerful voices of those who experienced and survived the Holocaust in person. Voices that implore us to never forget, and to learn the lessons history teaches us,” President Higgins said.

Continuing, the President said, “Remembering the Holocaust suggests an important lesson from which we can all draw wisdom: Remembering not only that, when fanned by fear and toxic prejudice, people are capable of unimaginable cruelty, but also that we must stay vigilant and have the courage to counter the rhetoric of fear-mongering and hatred.

Today, let us recommit to the critical values of decency, equality, justice, tolerance and respect for our differences and our vulnerabilities. And let us recommit to the fight against the politics of fear and hatred, in all its forms.”